Long-term care and the situation of social workers

Country

Poland

Long-term care

Basic principles

Central system supplemented on a regional level.

Long-term care is provided piece-meal through legislation on a number of others risks including old-age, invalidity, survivors, health care and also in the legislation on social assistance.
The long-term care is based on a philosophy of:

· social assistance (benefits in kind),

· social insurance (Medical Care Supplement, Dodatek pielęgnacyjny).

The long-term care provides benefits in-kind and cash benefits - both financed from the state budget.

Long-term care

Field of application

In Poland, all age groups are entitled to long-term care benefits (both children and adults), and the main eligibility criterion for awarding this type of care is the state of health of any given person, resulting from the degree of disability, invalidity or age.

Organisation of Long-term care

Informal caregivers and professional providers

Informal caregivers:

Spouses, members of the household and other relatives or friends.

Professional providers:

Specialists with professional qualifications, nurses, employees of social assistance centers, support centers, family-based assistance houses, social assistance houses, long-term nursing care in the home-based environment, family support centers.

Long-term care

Benefits for the carer

A social assistance centre pays the contribution to old-age and pension insurance, in the amount subject to income criterion per person in the family, to a person that gives up employment due to the necessity to exercise direct, personal care for a member of the family suffering from a long-term or serious disease, and for non-cohabiting mother, father, or siblings, provided that the actual income per person in the family of the person exercising such a care does not exceed 150% of the amount subject to income criterion per person in the family, and the person exercising such a care is not covered by mandatory old-age or disability pension insurance under other titles, and receives no old-age or disability pension. The above also refers to individuals who - due to the necessity to exercise such a care - are on unpaid leave. The contribution to old-age and pension insurance - in the amount specified under relevant provisions on the social insurance system - is paid for the duration of exercising such a care.

Long-term care

User charges

The stay at a social assistance house is co-financed by the individuals concerned and their families. According to applicable terms, the payments due should be borne by the resident him/herself up to the amount of full average maintenance costs, not exceeding, however, 70% of his/her income, with the family and the community participating in payments. Where the full costs of maintenance of a resident in a social assistance house do not exceed 70% of his/her income, neither the family nor the community need to co-finance these costs. If the resident of a social assistance house makes a payment which is lower than the actual maintenance costs, it is the family that is then obliged to make the remaining payment, also up to the amount of full maintenance costs, however, only where the income per person keeping a single household or per person in the family exceeds 250% of the income criterion, provided that the amount of that person’s or that of family’s income which remains after making the payment may not be lower than 250% of a relevant income criterion. The municipality (gmina) from which a given person has been referred to a social assistance house makes the payment in the amount of a difference between the average maintenance costs at the social assistance house and the payments made by the resident and the family. If a person referred to a social assistance house has no family, or if the family is exempted from payments due to low income, the community covers the remaining amount due up to the full average maintenance costs of the resident referred to that house.

The care services from social assistance centres are paid. The amount of payments depends on the income per person in the family. Partial or total exemption from such payments is possible in particularly justified cases. People, whose income is equal to or lower than the income criterion are exempted from payments.
The care in centres and homes which provide residential and semi-residential care are financed by municipality (gmina) or region (voivodeship). There is no participation of the beneficiary.

Computer and Internet skills of the general population

Country

Poland

Use of computers

Enforced lack of a computer

2011

One adult 65 years or over. Cannot afford

9.2%

E-skills

2012

Individuals who have copied or moved a file or folder

52.0%

Individuals who have used copy or cut and paste tools to duplicate or move information on screen

47.0%

Individuals who have compressed files

24.0%

Way of obtaining e-skills

2011

Individuals who have obtained IT skills through self-study (learning by doing)

42.0%

Reasons for not having taken a computer course

2011

Individuals who do not need to take a computer course because their computer skills are sufficient

21.0%

Individuals who do not need to take a computer course because they rarely use computers

8.0%

Use of Internet

Frequency of Internet access:

2012

Once a week (including every day)

59.0%

Daily

46.0%

Internet used for

2012

Internet banking

32.0%

Interaction with public authorities (last 12 months)

32.0%

Mobile Internet access with portable computer

Every day or almost every day 2012

5.0%

Individuals' level of Internet skills

2011

Individuals who have used a search engine to find information

64.0%

Individuals who have sent an email with attached files

47.0%

Individuals who have posted messages to chat rooms, newsgroups or an online discussion forum

27.0%

Individuals who have used the Internet to make phone calls

25.0%

Individuals using the Internet for seeking health-related information

23.0%

Concern about possible problems related to Internet usage

2010

Strongly concerned about catching a virus or other computer infection (e.g. worm or Trojan horse) resulting in loss of information or time

16.0%

Mildly concerned about catching a virus or other computer infection (e.g. worm or Trojan horse) resulting in loss of information or time

33.0%

Not at all concerned about catching a virus or other computer infection (e.g. worm or Trojan horse) resulting in loss of information or time

14.0%

Security related problems experienced through using the Internet for private purposes in the last 12 months.

2010

Caught a virus or other computer infection (e.g. worm or Trojan horse) resulting in loss of information or time

19.0%

Financial loss as a result of receiving fraudulent messages ('phishing') or getting redirected to fake websites asking for personal information ('pharming')

1.0%

Activities via Internet not done because of security concerns

2010

Security concerns kept individual from ordering or buying goods or services for private use

7.0%

Security concerns kept individual from communicating with public services and administrations

2.0%

Use and update of IT security software or tool to protect the private computer and data

2010

Use any kind of IT security software or tool (anti-virus, anti-spam,firewall, etc.) in order to protect private computer and data

49.0%

Don't use any kind of IT security software or tool (anti-virus, anti-spam, firewall, etc.) in order to protect private computer and data

5.0%

Don't know if use any kind of IT security software or tool (anti-virus, anti-spam, firewall, etc.) in order to protect private computer and data

5.0%

Frequency of safety copies or back up files from the computer on any external storage device

About Us

Carer+, co-financed by the European Union, aims to support the development of digital competences and digitally-supported professional skills for care workers, with a particular focus on applying these skills and competences to enhance the quality of care provided for care recipients.